New "Bailout" Liabilities = Existing Publicity Traded Debt of U.S.

FT (HT Credit Writedowns):

The two mortgage companies have between them $5,400bn in liabilities, equal to the entire publicly traded debt of the US, alongside mortgage-related assets of about equal value. These will now all be accounted for by the CBO, although public accounting rules mean that its tally of US government debt may not necessarily increase by $5,400bn.